


A Practical, and Pleasurable, Application of Summoning Monstergirls

by Fresh_Squeezed_Citrus



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Porn With Plot, Summoning, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:02:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24418564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fresh_Squeezed_Citrus/pseuds/Fresh_Squeezed_Citrus
Summary: Jaune wanted to be a hero, but being the middle child of a minor noble family there were not many opportunities to showcase his talent. With the encouragement of his friend, the two runaway from their semi-pampered lives, traveling halfway across the world to join an adventurer's guild. When Jaune believes he has started to hold his friends back from their true potential, he rediscovers something that might just help him catch up. Although Jaune certainly received a power boost, among other things, he really should have read all of the instructions...
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune Arc/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 50
Kudos: 106





	A Practical, and Pleasurable, Application of Summoning Monstergirls

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Myrmidon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22233574) by [Selene_Sokal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selene_Sokal/pseuds/Selene_Sokal). 
  * Inspired by [RWBY Monstergirls](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23674078) by [Selene_Sokal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selene_Sokal/pseuds/Selene_Sokal). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the works of, and a long conversation with, Selene_Sokal.

The world of Remnant is a magical place. Four Kingdoms have brought peace to the land, through a mix of science and magic, soldiers and adventurers keep the people safe from beast and bandit. As time passed, those who took up arms began to specialize. Warriors charge forward with weapons drawn to vanquish their foes. Wizards cast spells to smite their enemies. Paladins take vows to defend the innocent. These are but a few of what the people called classes that would emerge. Those who take up arms are ever training to increase their skills and abilities. Those that push themselves the farthest, master the most powerful abilities due so in the pursuit of the highest title one can earn, Hero. This is the story of one such man.

* * *

As he did since he was eight, Jaune Arc waited with his mother, and a number of servants, for the visitors from Mistral to arrive. The Arc’s were middling lords of Vale, not of old enough blood to drastically effect the kingdom’s decisions, but of high enough standing that the family was given great autonomy in how to rule their lands. This standing allowed the family a number of luxuries; a large manor, the best tutors in the kingdom for Jaune and his seven sisters and of course fine dresses for the ladies of the family. Even Jaune’s black shirt, tan breeches and leather boots were of finer quality then many of the town’s folk had. Still, the teen looked incredibly under dressed standing next to his mother’s royal purple hooped dress decorated with a multitude of yellow ribbons; which was fine by the family standards, Jaune spent his free funds on other necessities of society. As it was in the Arc family, the matriarch handled diplomacy while the men rushed to battle.

Despite standing at the entrance to the manor for much of the morning, Jaune smiled as he saw the visitors arrive on horseback. As with the previous visits, two people came. The first was a woman of average height, her hair cut short, her eyes behind red framed glasses, a brown riding jacket worn to keep her warm. The other rider was taller than the first, did not wear glasses and wore their long hair in a ponytail. Instead of the usual riding wear, this visitor wore an almost complete set of crimson armor, except that the helm was replaced by a bronze circlet. They were also armed, a short sword on their hip and a circular shield on their back.

Even from a distance one could see that two riders were related due to the shared fair skin, emerald eyes and red hair. As the two came closer, the shorter rider called out, “Violette, it has been far too long.”

“Thetis!” Jaune’s mother returned the greeting as the servants rushed forward to help the foreign noblewomen off her steed. “It’s only been a year, but I must agree.”

As the two older women were busy catching up, Jaune strolled forward and silently motioned for the remaining servant to step aside as he stood next to the remaining rider, a girl his age. Soon the other rider braced her outstretched arm on Jaune’s shoulders before bringing their opposite leg across the horse and to the ground. As his friend finished stepping onto the ground, Jaune greeted them, “Hello again Pyrrha.”

“Hey, that’s my greeting!” Pyrrha lightly slapped Jaune’s chest as she giggled.

“Well you didn’t say if fast enough.” Jaune jested before pointing to the sword and saying, “That looks new.”

Seeing what held her friend’s attention, Pyrrha explained, “Yes, I recently mastered the second stage of my Paladin training. I will probably be taking my oath shortly after mother and I return home.” She then drew the blade, revealing a double-edged sword with a slight swell near the handle before straightening out and tapering to a point. “It’s really nothing more than a ceremonial blade to commemorate my achievement, but it is still perfectly suited for battle.”

“Oh? Is that a challenge?” Jaune asked his friend with a raised eyebrow.

Pyrrha only smirked as she countered, “Oh, do you think you can actually last longer than half a minute?”

Jaune returned the grin as he stated, “Oh, now that was definitely a challenge. Allow me to put on my best while you stable your horse. I shall meet you in the ring.”

* * *

“I apologize for keeping the lady waiting.” Jaune stated as he walked into the practice ring. Some of the family servants had helped the teen don his armor; a chest plate, set of gauntlets, matching vambraces and spaulder, all expertly forged and lacking ornamentation save for the bronze trim. While Jaune did have a full suit of plate armor he rarely wore it, his fighting style lending itself more towards mobility instead of a stalwart defense. As for armament, Jaune chose his personal sword, Crocea Mors, a seemingly normal blade with a longer than normal handle and some other surprises.

“I assure you, the lady did not wait too long.” Pyrrha returned as she stood in the ring before adopting a ready stance, her shield held in front of her with her blade held high ready to strike. It was obvious the young woman was ready to spar, as with a smirk she challenged, “Now will my host do me the pleasure of getting ready so that I might introduce him to the ground again?”

“Oh, we shall see about that.” Jaune returned as he adopted his own stance and revealed his weapon’s first surprise. Unhooking the sheath from his belt, Jaune grasped the handle of the sword with his right hand and drew the blade as the metal of the sheath jostled about, the rectangle coming apart before reassembling into a kite shaped shield bearing the double arch of the Arc family. Jaune was no master craftsmen, but he had a great enough understanding of machines to build the gears and shafts necessary to create the simple mechanism. Unfortunately Pyrrha had sparred with Jaune many times before and was unsurprised at the minor technical marvel, she instead took it as her cue to attack.

Jaune had no doubt that Pyrrha was a better fighter than him, in time she’d probably become one of the greatest fighters in the world. Yet Jaune had faced her many times before, he knew how she fought and felt he had a chance to, if not win, maybe end the spar in a tie. As expected the red haired warrior led with a shield bash, which Jaune met with his own. Instead of stopping, Pyrrha used the momentum, pivoting on her heel to spin and lash out with her sword. Jaune expected this, bringing his own blade up to intercept the attack with the flat of his sword. With the two combatants momentarily deadlocked, Jaune shifted his weight to use his shield to push Pyrrha away, taking a few steps back himself to increase the distance.

As the two slowly began to circle the ring, Jaune’s mind developed strategies. He had a slight range advantage against his friend, but she easily matched him in speed and power and heavily outclassed him in terms of defense, especially with her shield. The rounded shield offered a superior amount of coverage when compared to Jaune’s kite shield. If Jaune were to have any hope of victory he needed to make Pyrrha abandon her shield, the best way to do that was to turn the advantage into a disadvantage. Jaune smirked as he decided it was time to reveal Crocea Mors second surprise, one that Pyrrha was unaware of.

When Jaune suddenly stopped and held his blade straight out Pyrrha believed her friend to be taunting her. She was about to teach him the error of his ways by rushing to attack, only to quickly halt when she saw the edge of the blade begin to glow orange, she raised her shield up just in time as Jaune cried out “Fireball!”, the warrior felt the impact of the magical attack as she was pushed back slightly.

As the spar descended into a lull, Pyrrha dropped her arms and relaxed her shoulders as she stated, “I didn’t know you could do that level of magic, when did you learn that?”

“About eight months ago.” Jaune explained, “I found the spell in the family library and tried it out, turns out I could do it. A few tests later and I figured out my magical reserves are greater than most peoples’, although my lack of practice and spell knowledge is keeping me from becoming a full-blown Wizard. But hey, like my sword work, I’ll get there one day.”

“How did you cast the spell?” Pyrrha then demanded, “I don’t see you holding a wand or staff, or are you hiding it behind your shield?”

Moving his left arm to show his opponent he was empty handed, Jaune explained, “I took some time to reforge Crocea Mors again.” Jaune spun the blade around so that Pyrrha could see the handle of the sword. She noted that the cross guard was a bit thicker, but when her eyes caught the large sapphire embedded in the pommel of the weapon, Jaune spun his weapon back into a proper grip as he finished, “Yeah, apparently gems are good at directing magical energy so a sapphire near my hand allows me to use my sword like a staff. Like so,” Jaune felt the familiar tingling sensation as he pulled the magical energy from his core and directed it towards his hand, “Fireball!”

As the battle resumed, Pyrrha once more brought her shield up to defend herself. Just as Jaune hoped, one of Pyrrha’s greatest strengths became a detriment. True the shield offered protection second to almost none, but to properly defend against Jaune’s fireballs she needed to bring the shield fully up. Not only would this repeated action eventually tire her out, but she also lost her visual on Jaune. While her opponent seemed content to keep her at range, having her blind meant that he could also reposition himself for a sneak attack. While Pyrrha greatly valued her friendship, she was also highly competitive and was not about to lose. That left one answer, her shield had to go.

As she felt the last fireball impact against her shield, Pyrrha loosened her hold on it. Turning her shield sideways, she quickly pivoted on her backfoot, spinning before tossing the giant metal disc straight at Jaune. As the boy was forced to dodge the impromptu projectile, this meant he didn’t have the time to cast another spell, which gave Pyrrha the chance to rush forward and renew her attack.

Jaune tried valiantly as Pyrrha moved inside his reach. With her shorter blade, Pyrrha was able to attack faster than Jaune, the boy using his shield to block the blows. Any time he tried to attack with his sword, Pyrrha was there with the flat of her weapon to block the blow. To have a chance at winning this fight Jaune needed to somehow attack and defend simultaneously, luckily he could do just that.

As Pyrrha reared back to take another swing, Jaune quickly shield bashed her. As his friend staggered a bit, Jaune planted his left foot before bringing his right forward to unleash a spartan kick. With the distance created between them, Jaune now had enough room to show off his sword’s latest addition. Putting his blade back in its slot caused his shield to reform into a sheath, but with a quick spin of the weapon a transformation occurred. The outer edges of the sheath popped out before flattening and moving forward, creating the semblance of a blade.

As Pyrrha eyed Crocea Mors’ new form, she remarked, “Are you sure your craftsmen skills aren’t at an apprentice level?”

“It took me half a year to conceptualize this, sketch out the schematics and then figure out what I needed to do for this to work without interfering with any other mechanisms.” Jaune explained as he grasped the extra length of his sword’s handle and gave it a few swings. “If I were an apprentice, I’d have that all done in a week. Now, come at me!”

Pyrrha nodded as she complied with the order. Switching to a backhanded grip to better take advantage of her speed, she charged forward. As expected, Jaune met her blow with the flat of his blade, but then he did something new. While the combatants were deadlocked, Jaune twisted his wrists, repositioning his blade so that the weapons were edge to edge. With practiced skill, Jaune moved his blade in a circular motion, Pyrrha’s sword forced to follow as it rolled out of her grip and onto the ground. Not one to waste an opportunity, Jaune shoulder bashed his friend, sending Pyrrha to the ground, before stepping over her sword and pointing his blade at his downed friend as she rolled onto her back.

“So then,” Jaune began as he questioned with a smirk, “do you yield my lady?”

For most fighters the spar would have ended there, but Pyrrha Nikos was not most fighters. With a glare at Jaune, the red head reached forward and pulled the blade towards her. Caught off balance, Jaune began to fall as Pyrrha began to rise. A quick jab to Jaune’s unarmored thigh made him wince and fall to the side, allowing Pyrrha to hook an arm around his chest and toss him to the ground below her. As Jaune landed on his back, Pyrrha pressed her heel against his wrist. Although protected by his vambrace, the pressure still caused Jaune to open his hand, releasing Crocea Mors, which Pyrrha quickly claimed.

After a few experimental swings to feel the balance of the weapon, Pyrrha held the sword to Jaune, nearly at his throat so that any sudden movement would result in a cut, smirking as she said, “Well Arc, do you yield?”

“Okay Pyrrha, you win.” Jaune stated, mentally adding, ‘just like always.’

After leaning down and helping her friend back up, Pyrrha gave a few more experimental swings of Crocea Mors’ extended form. “I quite like this.” The girl commented before asking, “Where did you get the idea for this one?”

“Since I’m always lugging around the sheath, I figured I should find someway to use it offensively.” As he explained, the knight held out his hand for the blade to be returned. After Pyrrha handed back his sword, he gave the weapon another quick spin that caused the sheath to return to normal. As he clipped it onto his belt, Jaune asked the paladin in training, “Well you won, what does the champion want to do next?”

With a smile, Pyrrha stated, “I could go for a swim right now.”

* * *

“You know, when I said I wanted to go swimming, I meant both of us together.” Pyrrha commented as she lazily treaded water in the large pond. On the shore hers and Jaune’s armor and weapons lay discarded, along with her underclothes. If Jaune were to look up from his book he’d be witness to a tantalizing sight, yet the young man stubbornly refused to look up once he saw Pyrrha take her hair out of her ponytail and begin to undo the laces of her corset. So now while Pyrrha enjoyed the cool water, Jaune sat in the shade of a nearby tree.

Attempting to get a rise out of her friend, the red head asked, “Is it really such a terrible sight to see me out of my armor?”

Jaune replied with a snort before stating, “Pyrrha, any man who tells you that is a liar, any woman is only jealous.” If he were to look up Jaune would see the blush his words had caused. Instead he turned the page as he finished, “And it’s not like we need to give Saphron more blackmail material, we’re just lucky she only wanted some extra funds for the conception potion so she and Terra could have a child.”

“How is Adrian anyway? Last I saw him he’d just learned to crawl.” Pyrrha commented as she began practicing her butterfly stroke, _subtly_ raising her rear end up higher than necessary.

As Pyrrha came up to breath, Jaune answered, “He’s doing fine. He learned how to charm the cooks into giving him extra desserts. I’m sure when you see him he’ll do his best to steal you away from me.” Seeing that Pyrrha was about to transition to the backstroke, Jaune quickly shifted his attention back to his book, trying to find a way to increase the power of his fireball.

Noticing her friend’s lack of response, Pyrrha began swimming back to the shore. After laying down on her stomach on the soft grass, a necessity to have an actual conversation, she asked Jaune, “Is something the matter? You did great in our spar but now you seem distracted.”

Now knowing he wasn’t going to see anything too embarrassing, Jaune finally closed his book and asked, “You know that the Arc’s are a little strange, our inheritance being based completely on birth order instead of gender.”

“So is this about Saphron and Terra eventually inheriting the estate?” Pyrrha asked.

“No, I’m fine with that. Saph’s been trained to run the household as just after Rouge announced her engagement and deferred the inheritance, she’s earned it. But I’m the fifth born. After my sisters before me, what is there left to inherit? What is there left for my younger sisters?” Even as he posed the question, Jaune knew the likely answer. The yearly visits, his parents encouraging Jaune’s friendship with Pyrrha, the continued sword training so that the two may have common ground. In all likelihood some betrothal arrangement had been made years ago, or would be made soon, to help secure the Arc’s an international alliance. Jaune supposed there were worse fates than being married off to his best friend.

“I don’t know.” Pyrrha admitted, “I suppose you could stay in the manor and help lead a division of your family’s forces. Maybe be put in charge of one of the forts along the border.” Left unsaid was that the blond could journey home with her, although her father might need some getting used to.

“And honestly I’d be fine with that.” Jaune admitted, “But I’m not just the fifth child of the Arc’s, I’m also the first son. Other first sons inherit seats of power, conquer the wilds on a hunt, go on amazing adventures. It makes whatever I do in the future look like a cheap handout.” Jaune finished, admitting to some self-confidence issues.

“Alright then,” Pyrrha began, “that’s the life laid before you. Now what do you want to do?”

“I want to be a hero.” Jaune answered without hesitation. “I know my swordplay isn’t the greatest. I know I need to put more effort into my spell work. I know how hard it will become choosing to duel class, but this has been my dream my entire life.” As he finished, Jaune looked straight at Pyrrha, his blue eyes seemed to shine with determination, “Ever since I first heard the tales of my great-grandfather, the man who made the Arc’s into nobility, it’s been my dream to become a hero, and it’s not something I’m giving up on easily.”

“Alright then,” Pyrrha responded as she stood up, Jaune quickly averting his eyes, “Let’s do it.”

“What?” Jaune asked, not understanding what Pyrrha had said.

“Let’s follow your dream.” The warrior explained as she walked over to her clothes, the water from her swim having long since dried. Now Jaune openly admired his friend’s shapely rear as Pyrrha pulled on her tights, although he quickly turned away as she turned around and said, “Let’s runaway together, join an adventure’s guild, and make your dream a reality.”

“Pyrrha, I can’t ask you to do that.” Jaune simply stated, not wanting to rob his friend of her future.

Instead of immediately responding, Pyrrha pulled on her tunic and asked, “Jaune, do you know what the oath of the paladins of my village is?” Jaune quickly shook his head. While the oath gave paladin’s great power, it was also a weakness, placing great restrictions on when and how to use their power. If an enemy were to learn a paladin’s oath, they could create an unfavorable situation that would either cause the paladin to be at a great disadvantage or break their oath and lose all their power. Answering her own question, Pyrrha explained, “It’s essentially to protect those dear to you. You are my friend Jaune, you are dear to me, and I will protect you.”

Accepting his friend’s resolve, Jaune nodded and broke out in a grin as he said, “Alright, I guess we’re really doing this then.” He then moved to help strap on Pyrrha’s chest plate as he began muttering a rough plan, “If we leave now, our family’s will assume we’ve eloped.” As he was behind her, Jaune did not see Pyrrha once more blush a heavy scarlet that matched her hair. He then continued, “I don’t think we’d do all that well in Vaccuo, too much sand, so I guess we can take a ship to Mistral.”

“We can’t stop there.” Pyrrha added, now helping Jaune with his chest plate, “Our parents, or more likely your sisters, will eventually realize the ruse. If we make a permanent residence anywhere in Mistral, they’ll eventually find us.”

“Alright then,” Jaune stated, “Mantle it is then.”

“That sounds grand.” Pyrrha agreed as the two began the walk back to the Arc Manor to gather supplies for the trip.

* * *

“I really wish someone would invent a long-distance airship.” Pyrrha complained a week later as the pair stepped foot into the Mistral port. Apparently his friend was easily prone to sea sickness, something Jaune only learned on their first day at sea.

“Oh it wasn’t so bad.” Jaune tried to wave his friend’s words off, only to be met by a glare. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of Pyrrha’s anger, he quickly changed topics. “So it’s getting a little late and the airships to Mantle don’t launch from this port. Should we look for an inn?”

“Yes we should look for an inn.” Pyrrha replied with a strained tone, “I would very much like to sleep in a bed that isn’t undulating with the intent of making me sick.” Jaune opened his mouth to point out their beds on the ship were not sentient, but quickly thought better of it and let the matter drop.

Half an hour later the pair of travelers found their lodging for the night. After a filling, if mostly tasteless, dinner, the pair were more than willing to call it a night. As Jaune arrived at the room and opened the door he found a new complication, there was only one small bed. Just as he was about to turn around and talk to the inn keeper about finding different accommodations, a yawning Pyrrha pushed past him. “I feel like I could sleep for a week.” She stated as she casually stripped out of her armor and clothes, climbing into the bed nude. As she settled down for the night, she turned to Jaune and asked, “Well? Aren’t you going to close the door and come to bed?”

Stunned, Jaune stated, “There’s only one bed.”

Pyrrha rolled her eyes before explaining, “Jaune, we’re going to be adventurers. We’re going to have to make do and end up sharing a bed more often than not.”

“You’re naked.” Jaune stated. Including the time back home and a few incidents on the boat, this was about the fifth time Jaune had seen Pyrrha in some state of undress. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think Pyrrha was trying to seduce him, which couldn’t be true in any way, shape or form.

“My village has a lot of warm nights, I never picked up the habit of sleepwear.” Pyrrha explained before ordering, “Now close the door and get to bed.”

Having several older sisters, Jaune recognized the tone and knew better than to argue. He also stripped down as he made his way to the bed, but chose to keep his undergarments on, he’d change into his spares in the morning. With a mumbled good night, both travelers fell asleep.

* * *

As morning came, Jaune was the first to wake, and soon encountered a problem. Back in his younger days when he’d shared a tent with his sisters on camping trips, they would complain that Jaune moved in his sleep and had a tendency to cling to them. Evidently this habit had stayed with him as he grew as he currently had the sleeping Pyrrha pulled close to him, his right arm snaking over her shoulder where his hand casually rested on one of her breasts while his left hand rested just below her belly button. As if the situation couldn’t be embarrassing enough, he could feel his “little Jaune” wedged between something warm, he desperately hoped he was only stuck between Pyrrha’s thighs and not someplace more erotic.

As he tried to disentangle himself from his friend, he found he could freely move his left hand, but his right remained trapped as when he tried to pull away Pyrrha held tight and pulled him closer. At least the movement shifted the blanket, and revealed to Jaune the material of his undergarments was caught between his friend’s ass cheeks, which only served to make his lower anatomy twitch in desire. Now really wishing to escape from his imprisonment and see to his other needs, Jaune decided to utilize a risky strategy.

Jaune moved his left hand back to its original position, his fingertips ghosting along Pyrrha’s stomach as he tickled her in the weak spots he remembered from their childhood. He was rewarded with a slight giggle and her hand coming down to slap the offending limb, only to quickly return to trap Jaune’s other limb. In desperation, Jaune resumed his tickle attack, increasing the speed of his fingers. Eventually Pyrrha’s light giggles turned into full blown laughter, her involuntary reaction being to curl forward, finally releasing Jaune’s arm. Before his friend became fully awake, Jaune quickly bolted off the bed. Grabbing his clothes and armor, he made his way to the inn’s private bathroom to address his other morning problem before getting dress.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha ate breakfast at the inn before gathering some last minute supplies in the port, but with any luck they would be on an airship to mantle before the day was done.

After splitting their resources, Jaune and Pyrrha split up to run their errands separately. While Jaune found them provisions for the rest of their trip, Pyrrha had requested he meet her at the port’s blacksmith. Arriving just before midday, Jaune found the proprietor of the shop; a dark skinned, bearded man whose yellow eyes and horns signaled his mixed heritage, hammering away on a piece of hot metal over the anvil. Upon noticing him, the blacksmith asked, “Are you the fella traveling with the red head?”

“That’s me.” Jaune admitted, figuring Pyrrha had stopped by to outfit herself with something more than a ceremonial sword, not that she really needed anything else to be an effective fighter.

The blacksmith nodded as he said, “Alright, she’s waiting for you in the back. Had to work hard to get her order done before you showed up.”

“I hope we didn’t cause you too much trouble.” Jaune quickly offered, his friendly nature and desire to help others once more shining through.

In response the blacksmith just laughed, “Oh it wasn’t anything too challenging, just time consuming. Besides with what she traded there was no way I could turn down the request.” Here Jaune became confused, true Pyrrha took quite a few of their shared coins but not enough to garner this reaction. As he started heading to the backroom, the smith called out once more and tossed a box to Jaune, “Be sure to give her those as well. They came in just before you did.” Now Jaune really wanted an answer as to what his friend had been up to.

Opening up the door to the backroom, Jaune called out, “Hey Pyrrha, the smith said you were…” the rest of the words died in his throat as he saw how his friend had changed. The first thing he noticed was that her hair was down. The second was that her short sword had been exchanged for a larger blade, nearly as long as she was tall and just about as wide as she was. The last difference was her armor.

While Pyrrha still wore her circlet, the rest of her plate armor and chainmail were gone. In their place were two metal items, both crafted to appear as if they were made of metallic scales. The first was two large triangles connected by a small chain. When laid on his friend’s chest they covered her breasts while another chain traveled up and behind Pyrrha’s neck, a third chain traveled behind the warrior’s back to connect the last points of the triangles. The second item was a larger triangle resting on Pyrrha’s waist that did a good imitation of a loincloth, no doubt if Pyrrha were to turn around the back would mirror the front. Despite his shock, Jaune soon recognized what he was seeing. Growing up, Jaune had read tales of such fabled armor but never imagined he’d see an actual battle bikini.

Quickly finding his voice, Jaune pushed the box towards his friend, looking away as he finished, “The smith said this was for you.”

“Wow, he was right, the cobbler worked just as fast as he did.” Pyrrha commented as she pulled out a pair of plain leather boots that would come up to her knee. After pulling the boots on and securing her new sword to her back with a simple strap, she turned to Jaune and asked, “So, what do you think?”

Jaune very much doubted his initial thoughts were appropriate to say aloud, so instead he said, “It doesn’t exactly look like paladin armor.”

Pyrrha suddenly looked down as she explained, “Jaune…it was never my choice to be trained as a paladin.” She then looked into her friend’s eyes as she stated, “Maybe I’ll tell you the full story one day, but please accept that running away with you isn’t just so we can have a chance at your dream, it’s also so that I can have a choice for once in my life.”

Knowing this would turn into a sensitive subject, Jaune redirected the conversation, “You know it snows in Mantle, are you going to be warm enough?”

“The armor’s enchanted against weather and has runes for heat.” Pyrrha explained.

“And what about wind?” Jaune asked before he could stop himself, “I’ve heard stories of Mantle’s winds being strong enough to overturn wagons, much less a metal loincloth.”

In reply to Jaune’s question, Pyrrha moved her hand down to grasp the loincloth, causing Jaune to quickly cover his eyes. At seeing her friend’s action, Pyrrha ordered him, “Put your hands down Jaune.” When he complied, the knight saw that some sort of leather undergarment was incorporated into the design of the armor. “Don’t worry Jaune, no one will see anything I don’t want them to.”

Although feeling as though he was continuously looking a gift horse in the mouth, Jaune asked, “Doesn’t really offer up much protection does it?”

In response, Pyrrha shook her head before reaching out and grasped a small knife. Before Jaune could stop her, she ran the blade along her forearm, but instead of her arm bleeding it almost looked like the metal of the knife was shredded. Pyrrha then explained, “It’s a passive skill I’ve had since I was a child. My skin isn’t exactly indestructible but it will take much more than a simple weapon to injure me. Not something I could show off at the time, but it’s certainly handy now.” She then fixed Jaune with a _look_ and asked, “Now, any more questions?”

“Just one, why did you change from the sword and shield?” Jaune asked, relieved for the change in subject.

“Because they just didn’t feel right to me.” Pyrrha admitted before explaining, “Yes Jaune I know, I was extremely skilled in using them, but that was because I had them shoved into my hands for as long as I can remember. Back during our last spar, when I held Crocea Mors in its extended form, that’s the most natural I’ve felt holding a weapon up until today.” She then pointed her thumb over her back towards her new sword and stated, “It took some tries, but I eventually settled on this beauty. It almost feels as if it were made for me.”

“Just as long as it doesn’t replace me as your best friend.” Jaune quipped. He then asked, “So, are you ready to begin our adventure?”

“I am.” Pyrrha replied before the two left the shop, the blacksmith waving after them and wishing them luck.

* * *

The two travelers had been walking down the main road on their way to the next village for nearly two hours. Along the way the two alternated between some scattered conversations and comfortable silences. As they neared a fork in the road, with Jaune consulting the map that directed them to head left, he turned towards Pyrrha and asked, “I forgot to say anything earlier, but what did you trade for the blacksmith to rush your order so quickly?”

“Oh just my old armor and weapons.” Pyrrha admitted, “And yes, I know they were made from high quality medals but it’s not like I’m going to use them any time soon and it doesn’t do us any good hauling around extra weight.”

“Actually I was going to say that you earned them so it was your choice what to do with them.” Jaune admitted with a smile, which Pyrrha returned.

As the two grew closer to the fork in the road, Pyrrha stopped and asked, “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Jaune asked, not even hearing a bird chirp.

“It sounds like music.” Pyrrha stated. Jaune was about to dismiss the possibility, until he heard a few stray notes. The two soon came to a silent conclusion to see where the music was coming from.

Shortly the pair saw two forms walking up the right fork. They couldn’t see much detail on the larger one as the person wore a dark green hooded cloak that hid any other feature, although they did notice the bow resting on his shoulder. The second form they could see much clearer. The person was a young woman, perhaps their age but a bit shorter than either of them. The young lady had bright orange hair cut short and light blue eyes. As far as clothing went, she wore a black jacket and a pink vest with a white undershirt along with a pair of white trousers and black high-heeled boots. In the woman’s hands was a mandolin that’s strings she absentmindedly plucked as she walked along.

At seeing Jaune and Pyrrha ahead of her, the young women waved and called out “Hello!” before rushing forward. As she got closer, she made introductions, “I’m Nora Valkyrie, battle bard extraordinaire!” Jaune had heard of barbs before, they usually tended to stay in cities, attempted to get influential individuals as their patrons before manipulating policy from behind the scenes. Somehow none of that seemed to describe Nora. Nora continued as her traveling companion moved forward at a more sedated pace, “And this is Ren, the best ranger in the world.” Here the man pulled down his hood, revealing pink colored eyes and long dark hair with a streak of magenta, Jaune wouldn’t have been surprised if Ren had some elf ancestry. He was also curious if Ren was a ranger who specialized exclusively in tracking and stealth or if he knew some magic to enchant his arrows.

With half the introductions done, Jaune introduced himself, “Well, I’m Jaune Arc, warrior in the knight subclass, although I dabble a bit in magic.” That got Ren to raise his eyebrow while Nora’s eyes widened in excitement.

“And I’m Pyrrha Nikos. I’m not exactly sure what to say about my class, what would you call someone who priorities attack but doesn’t charge in without thinking like a berserker?” Ren and Nora gave simultaneous answers of “reckless” and “badass” which had Pyrrha comment, “I suppose I’ll have to work on the name later.” She then asked Nora, “How does one go about become a ‘battle bard’ exactly? With a name like Valkyrie, barbarian would seem like a natural fit.”

“Tried it, had fun smashing things but grew board of it quick. Now I use my mighty Magnhild,” here Nora held up her mandolin by its neck,” to call upon the gods’ favor to bless my allies or smite my enemies!” With a flourish, she played a few cords, calling down pink lightening that hit a branch above them. “And if I wish to be more involved, I charge forward to break legs!” The branch that had been hit suddenly cracked before falling down. Nora reacted swiftly by flipping her instrument around, Jaune could now see the metal plating bolted to the mandolin’s body, before hitting the falling wood and smashing it to splinters. Nora then turned her focus back to Jaune and Pyrrha and asked, “So are you the same Jaune and Pyrrha that we heard eloped before the final negotiation about your marriage could occur?”

“Wow, news travels fast.” Pyrrha commented.

“My mother or one of my sisters probably sent out a messenger bird.” Jaune told his friend before turning back to Nora and Ren he explained, “We didn’t elope, Pyrrha just encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming a hero and was kind enough to come along and help me. We’re on our way to Mantle to join a guild.”

Hearing this, Nora turned to her own traveling partner and stated, “Ren, we need to join them.”

“Nora,” Ren replied in a tired voice, “we’re already part of a guild, we need to head back to mark our contract as a success.”

“Oh come on!” Nora exclaimed, “It’s not like Lionheart is giving us any of the good contracts. We can just write him about the successful quest, inform him of our resignation and have him forward our payment once we have an address in Mantle.” She then pointed to Jaune and Pyrrha and proclaimed, “It was destiny that brought us together on this road, just think of how great a ballad their story will make!”

Ren seemed to consider this for a moment before walking forward, saying, “It appears my mind has been made up for me. So what do you say,” he held out his hand as he asked, “shall we form a party?”

Jaune gave a quick look to Pyrrha, seeing her nod he grasped Ren’s hand as he said, “I can already tell it’ll be fun to work with you.” Nora just smiled, the group of four had another few hours on their trek into town, but it seemed like smooth sailing from here.

* * *

As the four disembarked the airship, Jaune fell to his knees, thankful to be on solid ground once again. “Never again.” the knight declared as he fought to keep his food down.

“But Jaune,” Pyrrha began in a sweet voice as she rubbed circles into his back, “it was only a five hour trip from Mistral to Mantle, it wasn’t so bad.” Somehow Jaune’s withering glare didn’t have the same effect as his friend’s as Pyrrha continued to smile.

Someone clearing their throat behind them made the pair refocus their attention. “So if you two lovebirds are done here,” Nora began, getting immense satisfaction when the two blushed, “we really need to either find an inn or join a guild so we have someplace to stay tonight.”

“It shouldn’t be that difficult.” Ren supplied, “Mantle is home to some smaller but well-known guilds that attract adventurers from all across the world, we should find a good fit in no time.”

As it was, Mantle did indeed play home to many guilds, perhaps too many. As the quartet explored the kingdom’s capitol, they found many guild houses overflowing with adventurers but not enough contracts for everyone, and yet there were just as many that were nearly deserted of personnel and contracts. The group thought they’d found a break when they stepped into the guild house of the Happy Huntresses, the main hall not overcrowded and with a number of contracts posted on the main bulletin board. They even met the guild’s leader, the archer Robyn Hill, who said she’d be happy to have Nora and Pyrrha join her ranks but politely informed Jaune and Ren they’d need to look elsewhere as membership in her guild was exclusively for female adventurers. Nora and Pyrrha just as politely refused the offer, making it clear they would not be separated from their friends. Despite the tense conversation, Robyn accepted the answer and wished the group luck in their search, even giving them a tip to look into the Atlas guild.

* * *

Soon the group came to the Atlas guild house. It appeared to be roughly the same size as the Happy Huntresses, and have just as many available contracts. Just as before the four were able to meet with the guild leader, James Ironwood. Jaune actually heard of Ironwood before, the man was a rising adventurer of the warrior class before losing his left arm and leg, and another appendage depending on the story, during a quest. Instead of retiring, Ironwood instead reclassed himself, quickly developing his artificer skills to craft his prosthetics before accomplishing an impressive engineering feat, making a better gun.

Guns had been in existence in some shape or form for nearly a century, but many adventurers found them to be cumbersome weapons. The long barrels necessary for accurate shooting meant both hands were needed to steady and fire the weapon, not to mention only one bullet could be held in the weapon at a time, with reloading being a long process. There had been attempts to compress the size of the weapon, but the results did not have as much stopping power and where wildly inaccurate. For the longest time the best advice to using a gun was to have a shot ready to go, fire and then grab the weapon by the barrel and charge forward with the improvised club. Before Ironwood there was only one adventurer who had success using a gun, but his had an oversized barrel jammed with many small shots that fired inaccurately at long range, and had the gunstock modified to feature a battle axe head.

But then Ironwood had revolutionized the weapon. His new design was a rectangular machine with a handle and a trigger much like a crossbow, but significantly smaller. Somehow the man found a way to keep the accuracy with the reduced barrel length and developed a system that allowed the weapon to fire multiple times before a reload was required. Amazingly this was accomplished with only a slight reduction in the size of the fired round, meaning the difference in stopping power was nearly immeasurable. With the use of his “shooting irons”, Ironwood did what no one in half a century had accomplished, he created a new class, the gunslinger. The man’s notoriety led to many contracts requesting him specifically, and the request of an audience with the Queen of Mantle. Details of the private meeting varied, with some claiming the Queen offered the man the job of leading her army while others insisted she asked him to be her new royal consort after the recent death of her last husband. In any event the result was clear, Ironwood turned down the request, resettled in Mantle’s capitol and formed the Atlas guild, the members often referred to as Wood’s men.

That quick history went through Jaune’s mind as he and his friends sat before Ironwood, who studied the group before asking, “So if I have this correct, I have the runaway son of a minor noble, a paladin in training, both of whom have an open contract for their return,” Jaune would admit he sweated a little and felt some relief as Ironwood shifted his attention to Nora and Ren, “and two rogue adventurers wanting to join my guild. Is that correct?”

“Well Nora and Ren already sent in their resignations, and technically Pyrrha isn’t a paladin anymore.” Jaune gently corrected, “But other than that, yes you are correct.”

“Alright, just making sure we’re on the same page.” Ironwood stated before leaning over and opening a drawer of his desk. After fishing around for some papers, the guild leader placed them on his desk along with four pens. “These are my standard contracts; you pay the guild twenty percent of each contract along with annual dues. I’ll also give you a free week of room and board to give you a chance to get on your feet. Does that sound agreeable?”

Jaune quickly scanned through his contract, making sure there wasn’t any legal language that could be a problem in the future. Once he was satisfied, he gave a quick look at the other contracts to ensure they were identical. Now that he was confident this arrangement would benefit everyone, Jaune signed his name with a smile, his friends doing the same soon after.

* * *

It had been a productive month for the group of four. Currently they still rented a room at the guild house, but Ren was keeping an eye on Mantle’s real estate to find an affordably priced house they could share. Aside from that the friends had completed a number of minor quests and had tested themselves against a few monsters. Unfortunately they did not escape all their encounters uninjured, during the last contract Nora was bitten by an ice spider. Although the bite wasn’t deadly to humans it was still painful. As no treatment had been developed that meant Nora would spend the next week on bed rest while Ren cared for her with variations of traditional remedies handed down from his family. This meant that while two of their party were incapacitated Jaune and Pyrrha had to pick up the slack to meet the rent for next month.

To that end Jaune had just completed his first solo quest. It wasn’t anything exciting, just clearing out a swarm of giant bats from a cave outside of town. While some monsters possessed a degree of sentience, the bats were more of a nuisance then a threat. A few sword swings and one fireball later and the bats were either dead or had fled, which made Jaune a nice profit once he turned in his contract.

Once back at the guild house, Jaune turned in his paperwork to one of the accountants, Ceil if he remembered right, and got a small sack of coins in return. ‘A few more quick jobs like that, and rent should be covered.’ Jaune thought to himself as he began walking over to the bulletin board, Pyrrha already there.

Before he could greet his friend, Ironwood called from his office, “Nikos, Arc, if I could have a word.” Soon the pair stood before Ironwood, who was standing in the back of the office searching through a stack of papers. “I have a contract for you two.”

“Someone requested us by name?” Jaune asked, not believing they’d already gained that kind of notoriety. When he saw Ironwood’s face, Jaune knew he was right to be skeptical.

“Not exactly,” Ironwood explained as he found the contract and brought it back to his desk, “it’s a short job that can be done in a day, but is more tedious work than most of the guild would put up with.”

“Great, another fetch quest.” Jaune commented. He’d still take the job, but he wasn’t going to be thrilled about it. “At least it can’t get any worse.”

Jaune supposed he really shouldn’t jinx his luck as Ironwood stated, “It’s for Merlot.” As both adventurers groaned, the guild master tried to placate them, “I know, I know. He’s not my favorite client either, but he’s an associate of Watts. We help Merlot and it helps keep Watts happy.”

“If we knew there would be this much politics in joining a guild, I think we would have saved everyone the trouble and just stayed home.” Pyrrha commented, earning a snort from Jaune. “So what does he want us to grab this time?”

“An ice serpent, alive.” When he got strange looks from his employees, Ironwood held up his hands and explained, “I learned long ago not to question the man. So, will you accept the contract?”

With a sigh, Jaune signed his name while he said, “It’s fast coin and with the pay we should have enough to pay you rent, although we’re definitely going to renegotiate the price on his next contract.” Pyrrha signed her name shortly after and the two departed for the wilderness to complete their newest job.

* * *

A few hours of hiking later and the pair were in the Whispering Woods, a forest visible from the east end of the capitol. Soon the two were off the beaten path, Pyrrha constantly scanning the trees for threats while Jaune kept his attention on the forest floor. Soon he caught sight of the objective, a foot-long white snake with light grey stripes and golden eyes. With measured steps Jaune approached the reptile. “Easy, easy,” he told himself as he ventured closer. In a sudden burst of movement, Jaune almost pounced on the beast, quickly grasping it as it tried to escape. Even as he stood with his prize, the snake tried to bite Jaune, only to be unable to strike due to how closely Jaune grasped its head.

As Pyrrha came forward with a bag to hold their quarry, Jaune asked, “Who knew having to help catch Myrtle’s ‘pets’ would help me later in life?”

“Yes,” Pyrrha agreed, “it is rather fortunate you grew up with such adventurous sisters.” Her tone then turned frosty as she stated, “Now we just have to get this snake to Merlot.”

While all of the friends had enjoyed some measure of success, Pyrrha had gained some minor celebrity both within and outside of the guild. Much of this attention was that Pyrrha had declared herself as belonging to a new subclass of warrior, the amazon whose application of magic was to strengthen one’s body for devastating attacks. The rest of the attention was due to her style of armor. While Pyrrha was comfortable with her choices, Jaune knew she could do without so many people leering at her. Merlot happened to be one of the worse offenders, not even bothering to hide his lustful looks.

“Tell you what,” Jaune said as the two got closer to the capitol, taking the bag from Pyrrha as he spoke, “how about I turn the snake in, and you go check in on Nora?”

“Are you sure Jaune? It’s really no bother.” Pyrrha tried to play off her earlier attitude.

Waving off his friend’s words, Jaune began walking away as he said, “I’m sure, just treat me to dinner sometime and we’ll call it even.” As he was facing away from her, Jaune didn’t see Pyrrha’s near full body blush.

* * *

As he’d been there before, Jaune found the rundown shack easily enough. He was also unsurprised when a man with wild white hair and a glowing red left eye pulled the door open and demanded, “Yes? What do you want?”

“I’m from the Atlas guild.” Jaune stated, keeping his voice even as he held up the bag, “I have your ice serpent.”

“Ah yes, you’re that blond knight!” Merlot cried out before looking around, “Say, where is your red head friend?”

“She has a solo quest and will be out of town for quite some time.” Jaune easily lied. “Now if you could just sign off on the contract.”

“Yes, yes, just one moment.” Merlot replied as he stepped away from the door and motioned Jaune inside, “Let’s take a look to make sure you grabbed the right animal, then I’ll pay up.”

Not really having any other choice, Jaune cautiously stepped into the shack, keeping a hand on the pummel of his sword as he was led further inside. Shortly Merlot came to a closed door that he opened and motioned Jaune inside. In the room Jaune could see a multitude of books stacked high, some open to seemingly random pages, along with a table that had a large glass tank a top it. As Merlot came into the room, he ordered, “Well come on now, let’s see it.”

Quickly Jaune lifted the top of the tank and placed the bag down. He then quickly untied the bag before grabbing the loose material and pulled it out of the tank, replacing the lid before the snake had the chance to escape. As Merlot leaned closer to the glass to examine the animal, the man commented, “What an extraordinary specimen. Good length, nice coloring, and I’m sure the fangs will prove to be of adequate size.” As Merlot continued his observations, Jaune saw what appeared to be a shadow coming towards them. Knowing from previous visits the scientist didn’t keep any pets, the knight began to draw his sword when Merlot cried out, “Stop what you are doing right now!” Jaune froze, as did the shadow.

Now that Jaune got a clear look at it, the shadow revealed itself to be a large scorpion creature. Due to the pitch black coloring and red markings, he would almost call it a Grimm except he knew the scorpion-like variety, the Deathstalker, was much larger. Seeing that it wasn’t going to attack him, Jaune took his hand away from his weapon and asked, “Just what is that?”

“It’s my…familiar.” Merlot answered as he slowly walked towards the creature and began corralling it out of the room.

“Familiar?” Jaune questioned, not quite recognizing the word, “I don’t think I’ve heard of that skill before.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t.” Merlot replied as he quickly signed off on the contract, “It’s a very old form of magic, hardly any users of it today. Now, please have a nice day.”

As Jaune walked out of the room and out of Merlot’s shack, his mind began piecing together another plan.

* * *

Merlot had been right in that familiars were old magic. A few days after giving the man the ice serpent, Jaune found time to visit Mantle’s library where he gave himself a review of the basics of magic. According to his various sources, familiar magic was used to bond a creature to the caster, this allowed for several passive effects based on the bonded familiar. To Jaune this was perfect. Between how amazing Pyrrha was, and the experience that Ren and Nora already had, he felt like the weak link in the party. He didn’t want to drag his friends down and stop their growth, so bonding with a familiar seemed like a good way to help catch up with his friends. There was a small note that it was a ritual only for high level wizards as there was a requirement for a large amount of magical energy, but Jaune figured he’d be fine with his own large reserves. Now he just needed to find a book that went into more detail of the ritual.

* * *

It had taken a month. Jaune had search nearly every bookstore in the city of Mantle before he happened upon a small hole-in-the-wall shop that sold a number of oddities. Although Jaune could tell quite a few were fake, such as the mounted Grimm skulls, there were also some genuine antiques, such as a ritualistic knife used in ancient Mistral burials. It was in this shop that Jaune found what he could only describe as a grimoire. The white leather-bound book had a strange symbol on its cover, what almost appeared to be a three pointed crown imprinted in the leather, the text mostly archaic Solitian from before the Kingdoms formed that Jaune could only halfway translate at a glance. Aside from the text, there were various diagrams that showcased rituals utilizing runes that the boy couldn’t make heads or tails of. If anything the book underscored just how old the practice was.

It sounded cliché in his head, but for Jaune it almost felt like the moment he held the book it was meant to be, that it was his destiny to hold it. The shopkeeper still charged Jaune an incredibly large amount of Lien for the book, but to the knight it was worth it. Just one more step to growing stronger and not holding his friends back. Now he just had to find a large enough space for the summoning and bonding ritual. If the bats hadn’t returned, Jaune thought he knew the perfect spot.

* * *

“And done!” Jaune told the empty cave as he set his hammer and chisel aside. For the past three days no new contracts had been offered to Ironwood, which meant no available work with the guild. Most adventurers took this as an opportunity to relax or train, Jaune supposed he was doing the latter. At least that was the excuse he gave Pyrrha whenever he left early in the morning to set up the ritual.

Through his meticulous work Jaune had been able to translate the majority of his grimoire, save for some words that did not have a direct translation and were not used in illuminating context. From his readings, Jaune found that nearly all summoning rituals required the participant to stand in a thirty-foot diameter circle. It had taken Jaune nearly an entire day, but through the use of chalk lines and determination he’d managed to carve a perfect circle into the stone floor of the cave.

After carving the circle came the tough part, choosing what companion to summon. The grimoire had seemingly hundreds of entries about what creatures one could summon; from the mundane, such as larger than normal snakes, to the more exotic, such as small dragons. It took a while to decide but Jaune finally chose to summon a hellhound. According to the book they were strong and loyal creatures, in turn they also had the passive benefit of allowing their master access to high level magic spells. Jaune already had a good grasp of fire magic, so he figured summoning a hell hound would allow him a greater repertoire of something he was already experienced in. That, and his parents not allowing him to get a dog when he was younger might have influenced his choice.

In any event, it took Jaune the next two days to carve the runes in the correct spots before double checking his work. And now all his hard work was about to pay off. Standing just off center of the circle, Jaune began the chant, hoping he was saying the words correctly, “ _I open the door and invite the guest. Come hellhound and aid me on this quest._ ” As he spoke the words, the knight was unaware that the circle and the runes began glowing a bright white, soon the light became overwhelming, blinding Jaune as he finished speaking.

Before Jaune could regain his vision, he heard a feminine voice yell out, “WHAT AND HOW?!?!” When Jaune’s vision did return, he was greeted by an amazing sight. The young woman was about his age, dressed in a loose-fitting yellow blouse and external brown corset, leather pants covered her legs. Long, golden hair that cascaded down her back while a few strands fell in front of her face to frame her lilac eyes. There was also the young woman’s rather large bust to admire, which looked to be a healthy D cup.

Despite the beauty that was before him, Jaune turned back to his grimoire, scanning the page as he muttered, “Alright, just where did I go wrong?”

Snapping her fingers, the woman walked towards Jaune and asked, “Hey buddy, just who are you and what’s going on here?”

“Well,” the would-be summoner explained, “I’m Jaune Arc. I was trying to summon a familiar, but I must have made a mistake and accidently summoned you here instead, miss?”

“Yang Xiao Long.” The blond beauty introduced herself. Upon seeing the white grimoire, she asked, “Do you mind if I take a look?”

“Go ahead.” Jaune replied as he handed over the book, “Good luck, I can barely make heads or tails of that thing myself. All I know is that it contains rituals that are supposed to allow you to summon and bond with powerful creatures.”

Upon seeing the cover of the book, Yang opened it to the first page. To Jaune it almost appeared as if she were reading the title, but the only words he could ever translate were “How To.”

After a moment, Yang asked, “So this is awkward, but were you trying to summon a hellhound?”

That question stalled Jaune’s mind, he was barely able to keep his cognitive functions as he asked, “How did you know that?” He then remembered her earlier actions and asked Yang, “Where you able to read that, how?”

“Well,” Yang answered, “I’m guessing you weren’t able to read the full title. This book is _How to Summon Monstergirls_. As for how I can read it, congratulations Jaune, you summoned yourself a hellhound.” To prove her point Yang shoved the book back into Jaune’s hands before her form became aflame. Soon Yang emerged from the inferno, changed. Her once lilac eyes had changed to a crimson red. Her yellow hair gained red and orange streaks, making it look almost as if it were comprised of fire. Two triangular ears perched atop her head.

And she was completely naked, Jaune receiving an eye full of her pink nipples and the small patch of hair further down her body. He felt his dick twitch in want.

As Yang held up her arms and stretched out her back, displaying her breasts more prominently, she commented, “Man it feels good to be in my natural form, I hardly ever get the chance to really stretch out.” She then turned to Jaune and asked, “So, we doing this bonding thing or what?”

Flustered, Jaune asked, “Is that really okay? I mean, I expected to summon something with the intelligence to follow basic commands, not someone who could be considered human.”

In reply, Yang jerked her thumb over her shoulder and asked, “Do you see that rune? I’m sure you’ve noticed it on all the pages detailing summoning. It gives us the option to leave without anyone suffering any consequences, but only if we leave the circle before the bonding begins.”

“So you’re good with this then?” Jaune asked, wanting to be sure he wasn’t unintentionally tricking the woman before him. “Don’t get me wrong, you are very beautiful and I’m sure if we go down this path we’ll become great friends, I just want to make sure you’re comfortable with what is happening.”

“Trust me, I’ve been in more uncomfortable situations,” Yang stated with a grin before shuddering, “I bet you’ve never walked in on your dad, your mom and their shared lover.”

Rising to the challenge, Jaune replied, “I’m pretty sure I witnessed the back half of my youngest sister’s conception. Then I got to see my second oldest sister, who has been like a second mother to me, try out her new toys with her future wife.” As the pair laughed about the shared embarrassment, Jaune asked one more question, “So just what exactly do you get out of this? I mean I’m supposed to get a bigger reserve of magical energy and access to some spells, but what do you get out of the bonding?”

“Well, our magic reserves become pooled, so I’ll get an extra bit of endurance.” Yang explained, “Other than that, you seem like a decent guy and fairly smart to be able to halfway translate that grimoire, so there are worse options that allow me to move out of the house and get mom off my back about finding a decent man.” She then gave Jaune a look and once more asked, “So, that answer everything? You ready to start the bonding?”

“Sure, let’s get started.” Jaune naively said with a smile before scratching the back of his head and asked, “So what exactly do we do for the bonding? The book just mentioned making a repeated offering, so am I supposed to cut my hand and give you some of my blood?”

“Well,” Yang began as she eyed Jaune up and down, “you are supposed to give me a bodily fluid, just not blood.” Seeing that Jaune didn’t quite get what she was saying, she elaborated, “We have to do the do, become the beast with two backs, insert shaft D into slot V, we have to have sex.” Jaune’s blush grew as Yang’s explanation continued, eventually resulting in his face becoming a deep red as he dropped his book, earning a laugh from Yang as she declared, “Yep, you get to bang Yang, aren’t you lucky?”

However the hellhound was confused as instead of jumping in celebration, Jaune awkwardly shuffled a few steps away and looked away as he mumbled, “Well the thing is…I’m not exactly experienced…what I’m trying to say is…”

Yang cut him off as she asked the young man directly, “Jaune, are you a virgin?”

Jaune sighed before he replied, “I’m the son of a noble family, there weren’t exactly very many girls I interacted with regularly that I wasn’t either related to or didn’t want to risk my friendship with. Not to mention everyone in the surrounding towns and villages knew what I looked like, so I couldn’t go off and visit a pub or brothel without it eventually getting back to my parents.”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Yang quickly said as she stepped forward and rubbed Jaune’s shoulders in an attempt to calm him down. “Look to some it may seem like a big deal, but I don’t mind it.” Seeing that her summoner was still dejected about the situation, Yang said, “Think about it this way, you get to learn from me now so you know what to do in the future.”

“I guess that isn’t so bad, just kinda figured my first time would be a little different.” Jaune said.

“You’re losing your virginity to create a bond with a powerful magic creature, I think the only way it could go better is if this were a three way.” Yang shot back with a smirk before ordering, “Now strip.”

“What?” Jaune asked, confused about the sudden order.

“You heard me.” Yang explained, “If we’re going to be bonded for life, I’d like to know what I’m dealing with. Not to mention I’ve been naked this whole time while you’ve gotten to hide in your clothes. Fair is fair after all.” If Jaune found a flaw in the logic, he kept silent as he began disrobing. After taking off his armor and shirt, Yang got to admire Jaune’s taunt muscles. Her fellow blonde wasn’t overly muscular like some other men she’d seen around her hometown, but he certainly had a fair amount of strength. Hoping to defuse any lingering tension, she stated, “Didn’t expect a bookworm to have so much muscle, do you work out some?”

“I’ve been training with a sword and shield since I was about eight.” Jaune stated as he unclipped his sword, laid it aside and began unbuckling his belt. He gripped the waistband of both his pants and underclothes, but paused before he pulled them down to say, “I hope I measure up to your expectations.”

“Don’t worry, size isn’t always everything,” Yang shot off but amended her statement when she saw there wouldn’t be a problem, “although it certainly does help some.” Strutting forward, she gently grasped Jaune’s half-hardened member and softly ran her hand along the length, “About six or seven inches and no foreskin.”

“Just something that’s always done to the men in my family.” Jaune said before asking, “So, is it a good size?”

“About the average from what I’ve gathered.” Yang stated as she gently wrapped her hand around Jaune’s cock and gave a few light pumps, “Now, let’s get this not so little guy up to full mast and get down to business.” As the hellhound continued to jerk off her summoner, she grinned as his length increased, then felt her jaw drop as Jaune’s cock kept going. When Jaune was fully erect, Yang couldn’t help but give a small whistle at the dick that now measured just over a foot long and about three fingers thick. Her smirk returning, Yang commented, “Well somebody is certainly a grower, I guess thirteen can be a lucky number after all.”

“So then, I guess we’re ready to get started.” Jaune grabbed the middle of his shaft and began to align himself with Yang, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest.

“Hey, no need to rush things. This isn’t going to be wham, bam, thank you ma’am.” The hellhound teased as she dropped down to her knees, “Let’s get this puppy prepared so that things go smoothly.” Jaune opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, only to groan in delight as he felt Yang’s tongue run down the length of his shaft. She then once again grabbed Jaune’s dick, giving it a few pumps as she pulled it up slightly to allow her a better angle at Jaune’s balls. After getting his right nut into her mouth and giving it a quick suck, Yang released it and reached into her mouth to pull out a small, yellow hair. Leaning back, she gave Jaune a look and stated, “When we get done with this, we’re going to have a talk about proper grooming habits.”

“Alright.” Jaune somehow managed to voice his agreement as Yang continued giving him a hand job. He somehow kept his voice from breaking as he asked, “So should I stay standing for this or?”

“If you’re tired of standing you can sit or lay down.” Yang answered, not letting go of her prize as Jaune quickly took a seat. As her partner opened his mouth again, Yang sprang forward. Jaune once again moaned as he felt Yang’s tongue circle his lower head before running up and down his shaft again. He then watched as she took his tip in her mouth, his moans increasing as she gently sucked on his dick. Slowly but surely, Yang inched her way up Jaune’s cock, her tongue playing with the underside of his shaft as she pumped what was not yet in her mouth. Eventually Jaune decided to close his eyes, lean back and enjoy the sensation.

It was about then that the tip of his dick hit the back of Yang’s mouth. Already knowing what she wanted to do next, the hellhound bobbed her head a few times before rearing back and almost seemed to slam herself forward, suppressing her gag reflex as she pushed Jaune’s dick further and started to deep throat him. If she could, Yang would have grinned at the increase in Jaune’s volume. Again she started taking more in as she pumped the rest of Jaune’s dick. As she continued, she began imagining all the wonderful things the pair were going to do and felt herself becoming wet.

Eventually the stimulation proved too much for Jaune as he called out, “Yang!” Knowing what was happening, the hellhound quickly took most of Jaune’s dick out of her mouth, keeping the tip in as Jaune’s cum began to shoot out. She felt several strands hit the back of her throat, but eventually Jaune stopped cumming, leaving Yang with a full mouth. After taking the cock out of her mouth, Yang swallowed what remained, using her finger to collect the small bit that leaked out of her lips, licking it clean and commenting, “Hmm, sweeter than I imagined.”

“I hope that’s not the only surprise you’ll have today.” Jaune said in an attempt to be suave, “So I guess this is the part where I return the favor, if what I’ve read is to be believed.”

“You mean licking my pussy and eating me out?” Yang asked unashamed as a blushing Jaune nodded his answer. “Maybe I’ll have you pay lip service in a bit, but right now I’m rearing to go.” As Jaune once again looked confused, Yang grabbed his nearest hand, pressing it against herself so that the tips of his middle and pointer finger were pushed against her wet folds. As Jaune processed the new sensation, Yang continued, “You feel that? Just sucking on your dick got me excited about all the fun we’re going to have.” Hearing that caused Jaune’s cock to spring back to attention, earning a laugh of disbelief from Yang, “Well someone certainly has a quick recovery time.”

“My granddad always said Arc’s had a lot of stamina.” Jaune explained, “Although I don’t think he meant it like this…but then again I do have seven sisters.”

“Okay, saving that thought for later.” Yang stated before bring the conversation back to the present, “Look the point is I’m ready for the main event, and apparently so are you. So cum on and do this Yang!” The hellhound declared as she pointed her thumbs at herself.

Now eager himself, Jaune asked, “So do you want to lay down, or do you have a favorite position.”

“Well, I am a hellhound.” Yang stated as she pivoted around, giving Jaune an eyeful of her ass and long fur tail that went to her mid-thigh that he hadn’t noticed before.

Getting to his own knees, Jaune shot back, “Well I just didn’t want to assume anything.”

“And that’s kind of you.” Yang replied, “but sometimes a woman wants…OH!” It was at that moment that Jaune pushed himself into Yang’s folds, his cock head easily slipping in.

With a smirk, Jaune asked, “You were saying?”

Yang looked back over her shoulder, a smirk of her own present as she said, “Now the fun begins.” She then started rocking her hips back, once more taking Jaune inside her bit by bit. After a few moments, Yang noticed Jaune hadn’t moved and called back, “Well come on! Don’t make me do all the work, start fucking me!”

“Like this?” Jaune asked as he reached forward and gripped Yang’s hips, gently pulling her further down his shaft as he pushed his own hips forward.

With a small moan, Yang called back, “It’s a start!” The hellhound then reared her ass back before slamming it back towards Jaune, pulling more of his cock into her, causing both of the blondes to moan. “So good!”

“So tight!” Jaune called back. He soon noticed that Yang was moving back much more forceful then he was pulling her. Concerned for his partner, Jaune said, “Hey, you don’t need to push yourself. I’m enjoying this just fine.”

“So am I!” Yang replied, “But,” she pulled forward, “I won’t,” she slammed back down, halfway down Jaune’s cock, ‘be,” she pulled forward again, “satisfied,” she came back down again, a little further down the shaft, “until,” she pulled forward again, but instead of rearing back the hellhound allowed more of Jaune’s dick out of her pussy, “I’m,” she had nearly taken all of Jaune’s cock out of herself, “balls deep!” Yang suddenly slammed herself back into Jaune, her mouth open in a silent cry as she forced her body to accept Jaune’s dick down to the base.

Now greatly concerned about his partner, Jaune stayed still and asked, “Are you okay?”

Yang didn’t reply for a moment before answering in a quiet voice, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this full.”

“That’s…good, right?” Jaune asked, not sure if it was a compliment.

“Amazing.” Yang gently corrected as she slowly slid forward before thrusting back against Jaune’s hips, biting her lower lip to keep from crying out, “It’s a good thing we’re going to be bonded because I don’t think anyone’s going to compare to you after this.” However, she soon realized her new lover needed some tutoring as his hands remained on her hips. “You know you don’t have to hold me in place. Come on, play with my tits or something.”

“Right.” Jaune said, a little self-conscious. As Yang continued thrusting into him, Jaune doing his best to match her hip movements, he let his hands explore the hellhound’s body. His left hand traveled upwards before landing in Yang’s chest. On a whim, he cupped one of Yang’s boobs, rubbing his thumb against her nipple. When that got a near moan, Jaune further experimented, slightly pinching Yang’s nipple between his thumb and finger, this time he was rewarded with a full moan as he gave it a gentle tug.

While his left hand played with Yang’s boobs, Jaune’s right wasn’t idle. Traveling further down Yang’s body, he soon bumped into a small nub of flesh. Relying on tales he’d heard in his rare tavern visits, he used the heal of his palm to rub around the clitoris, grinning when he heard Yang’s breath hitch.

With both hands occupied, Jaune still felt he was missing something. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. Leaning forward, the knight gently nibbled on the hellhound’s neck before sucking on the tender skin. Once again Yang cried out in ecstasy, her arms giving out as her head came to rest against the cave floor. This caused her backend to raise further up, giving Jaune a different angle as he continued to thrust himself into Yang’s increasingly wet hole.

Jaune continued his actions as he kept thrusting, he was soon rewarded as Yang cried out, “Jaune!” He could feel Yang’s inner muscles clamp down like a vice on his dick, but ever the gentleman Jaune knew he had to hold off as long as possible. Soon he felt Yang’s form beneath him quiver, only then did he allow himself to cum.

Exhausted, Jaune collapsed atop of Yang. As the pair of blonds slowly got their breath back, Jaune finally pulled out of the hellhound, a loud plop filled the cave as his cock came out of Yang’s pussy. As he saw some of his cum leak out of the hellhound, he absent mindedly commented, “Hope nothing comes of that, I don’t mind kids but I’m not exactly in the best position to be a father.”

Slowly reaching out to point to a still glowing rune to her left, Yang stated, “Anti-conception rune.” She then turned and propped herself on her elbow and added, “I’m not in heat anyway, so we don’t have to worry about that for the rest of the month.” She then slowly crawled towards Jaune before settling onto his lap. As she gripped Jaune’s shoulders to steady herself, she once again wrapped her hand around Jaune’s dick. “So then, ready for round two?”

“Again? You’re just insatiable, aren’t you?” Jaune asked as he felt his erection slowly return.

“Well I hadn’t had a good fuck for almost a year.” Yang explained before nodding towards the still glowing circle and runes, “And didn’t your book say multiple offerings?”

“Well I can’t argue with that.” Jaune said before shifting his hips for a more comfortable position. “So I take it you want to be on top this time?”

“You bet!” Yang stated as she aligned herself with Jaune, sinking down the shaft while bucking her hips. “Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff.”

“Happy to help.” Jaune quipped before reaching forward to grasp Yang’s waist to pull her closer. As his mouth found one of Yang’s nipples, the knight began to gently suck on it. As Yang cried out, Jaune wondered how well he’d do on this impromptu test of the Arc’s fabled stamina.

* * *

Pyrrha hummed to herself as she walked out of Mantle. She was happy that in their three days of rest, Jaune had not been idle. Instead her companion left immediately after breakfast to go train by himself and not returning until nearly dinner. While she was happy that Jaune continued his quest to become stronger, she hoped that the knight wasn’t working himself too hard. As such the amazon had stopped by the market to buy a few potions before starting her search for Jaune. Unfortunately neither Ren or Nora had a concrete idea where Jaune might have gone off to train. Pyrrha did check some of Mantal’s gyms and training yards but still could not find the knight. By chance she ran into Ciel who mentioned Jaune might be at the cave he cleared out not too long ago on a solo quest.

So Pyrrha resumed her personal quest to find her wayward friend. As she drew closer to the cave, the red head wondered if she should have brought some lunch with her, but those thoughts stopped as she heard moaning coming from the cave. Concerned that Jaune’s training spot had become haunted, Pyrrha rushed forward, hoping the glass bottles wouldn’t break in her satchel. She knew she was ill-prepared to fight against ghosts or some other malicious spirit, but she hoped she could rush in, grab her partner, and run away before too much damage had been done.

That plan stopped as soon as Pyrrha came into the cave, her mind trying to process what was happening. She could see a nude, limp form with blond hair laying on the floor while a women with triangular ears squatted atop it, slamming her hips against it. When she heard groaning coming from the person on the ground, she finally made the connection.

Knowing her friend was in danger, Pyrrha rushed forward, spear tackling the women off of Jaune and to the floor. As she straddled the attacker and pushed her hands down, the amazon demanded, “What did you do to him?!?”

“Nothing he didn’t want.” Yang replied, “Jaune did summon me for a bonding.”

“A what?” Pyrrha demanded, putting a bit more pressure on Yang’s wrists.

Yang wiggled underneath Pyrrha, trying to escape her grasp and get back to Jaune. “We started the ritual, now we have to finish it.” Pyrrha was about to demand a better explication when Yang’s lust filled mind finally processed what was going on. Seeing the red head holding her down, the hellhound smirked and stated, “Hey, you’re pretty cute. Maybe when me and Jaune finish up we can all have some fun.” She punctuated the statement by leaning up and licking the side of Pyrrha’s neck.

Although shocked by what happened, Pyrrha still managed to keep her grip on Yang. Soon she heard Jaune’s groaning, which made her happy that her friend was still conscious. Turning her head back to see Jaune slowly sitting up, and doing her best to not look below his waist, Pyrrha asked, “Just what were you doing in here for the past three days?”

“Making preparations for a summoning and bonding ritual.” Jaune admitted as he tried rubbing some feeling back into his legs. “I saw Merlott’s familiar and it seemed like a good way to get stronger.”

“And that required you to have sex with this woman?” Pyrrha demanded, angered Jaune would use such a shortcut in his training.

“It’s part of the ritual.” Jaune explained as he looked away.

Feeling as if she’d tear her hair out in frustration, Pyrrha ordered, “Well then finish up so we can get this over with and go home.”

“Can’t.” Jaune stated as he gestured to his lower anatomy, “I ran out of steam and if I leave the circle I lose all connection to magical energy.”

Grunting in irritation, Pyrrha adjusted her grip to hold both of Yang’s arms with one hand while she dug around her satchel with the other. Finally finding what she wanted, the amazon fished out a bottle filled with a red potion before tossing it to Jaune. When her friend caught the potion, Pyrrha stated, “It’s a full revive, now hurry up and finish so this day can end.”

Jaune did as he was instructed, using his teeth to pull the cork out of the bottle before downing the potion in two great gulps. As he threw the bottle behind him, Jaune felt his energy return, along with his erection. Not wanting to waste his new energy, Jaune approached the women with measured steps before kneeling down and thrusting forward. It was only after hearing a great cry he realized that he hadn’t entered Yang, instead his dick went into Pyrrha’s formally virgin vagina.

* * *

Before Jaune got close to her, Yang recognized what was about to happen. She also recognized the red head currently keeping her pinned down was Jaune’s friend and that the current situation had led to some hard feelings between the two. Not wanting Jaune to lose a friendship, Yang acted in what was only a logical choice, at least to her current sex crazed mind.

While Pyrrha’s strength was focused on keeping Yang’s arms down, it was only her body weight that pinned the hellhound’s hips to the cave floor. With a quick movement, Yang brought her legs up to wrap around Pyrrha’s waist before quickly twisting her hips to swap places with the amazon. As the red head was startled by such a move, Yang was able to yank her arms free before looking back to assess the situation. Seeing that Pyrrha only wore her metal loincloth, Yang quickly reached down and shoved the leather portion aside, hooking the undergarments with her fingers as well, leaving most of Pyrrha’s lower half exposed to the world, right before Jaune got into position.

Jaune quickly realized what had happened. Upon seeing blood leak out of his friend’s vagina, he cursed, “Shit. Pyrrha you know I didn’t mean to…”

He was, however, interrupted when Pyrrha’s foot reared back before shooting forward and catching him on the chin. With clear anger in her voice, Pyrrha ordered, “Just get the fucking over with already!”

Nodding, Jaune quickly reached under Yang’s shoulders, hooking her by the armpits as he lifted her off of Pyrrha before tossing her back onto the cave floor. Once again he took the hellhound on all fours, although much rougher this time. Soon both blondes reached their breaking point and began cumming. It seemed that the ritual was finally complete as the runes disappeared, the circle rapidly shrank before it seemingly traveled up Yang’s body, settling around her neck where the light formed a simple black collar. Jaune gave a muffled cry of pain as a black circle was seemingly burned into his right bicep.

Now that the excitement had calmed down, Jaune once again attempted to talk to Pyrrha. He turned around and opened his mouth to speak, only to see the amazon readjusting the leather portion of her loincloth before stalking past him and out of the cave. At seeing what happened, Yang realized just what she’d done and voiced the thought, “I just made her hate you, didn’t I?”

“I hope not, hopefully I can talk to her soon.” Jaune answered, although he doubted Pyrrha would let him anytime soon. Sighing at his current predicament, Jaune turned to Yang and asked his new familiar, “Could you get some clothes on and help me find my pants? We’ve got to go explain everything to the rest of my party.”

As Yang’s form shimmered once again, she appeared clothed once more, although Jaune noticed her ears and tail were now present, although her eyes changed back to their initial lilac color. As the hellhound went about the cave collecting Jaune’s discarded clothes, the knight couldn’t help but feel like his life was about to get infinitely more complicated.

* * *

Jaune really hated being right.

While Yang got along just fine with Nora and Ren, after Jaune explained the ritual, her and Pyrrha’s relationship could be described as non-existant if one was being generous. Moreover, Pyrrha also seemed to cut all ties with Jaune, it had been an entire day and Pyrrha still hadn’t talked to him. Whenever he entered a room, his friend didn’t acknowledge him. If he tried to speak to her, the amazon acted as if the knight hadn’t said anything. While Jaune tried to think of someway to get Pyrrha’s attention, he’d even take her yelling at him at this point, he walked down to the guild house’s main hall. Unfortunately his entrance did not go unnoticed.

“There he is men! The one man in the guild who couldn’t get laid, so he resorted to a magical booty call!” Cardin Winchester, the half-orc bastard son of a minor Mantle lord, loudly declared to his three yes-men; Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark, all three laughing loudly while Jaune groaned. He had tried to keep what happened to just his party, unfortunately Russel had overheard him talking to Ren and quickly shared it with Cardin, who shared it with the rest of the guild.

It was at that time Yang came into the hall, having run off to do some errands. Upon seeing the hellhound, Cardin loudly declared, “And here’s the bitch of the hour herself. If you ever get tired of Jaune’s needle dick, you’re always welcome to join me. I’m sure you’d actually like to be satisfied for a change.”

To the outside observer it would seem that Yang didn’t have a reaction to Cardin’s comment, however Jaune caught Yang’s eyes switching to red and back to lilac for just a second. Thankfully his familiar didn’t lash out physically, instead Yang fired back, “I think I’ll pass. Afterall, I wouldn’t want to get between you and your one true love, your right hand.”

Now those in the hall were laughing at Cardin’s expense, causing the man to push out from the table. Recognizing what was about to happen, Jaune quickly placed himself between the pair and tried to look as intimidating as possible as he glared up at Cardin and ordered in a low voice, “Sit down, now.” As expected, the half-orc did not comply. Instead he reached out for a weapon, Jaune was just glad it was a mug instead of the usual mace.

Before a brawl could occur, a loud bang captured the entire hall’s attention. Everyone looked up to see Ironwood standing outside his office, his gun pointed towards the roof, the barrel still slightly smoking. As the guild leader holstered his weapon, he asked, “What is going on here?” When no one provided an answer, he continued, “I’m hearing nothing, which better be how it remains.” He then swiftly ordered, “Everyone pack up, we’ve been contracted to support a raid near Argus, we leave in an hour.”

As the adventurers quickly downed their drinks before rushing off to get ready, Cardin roughly bumped into Jaune, declaring, “We’ll settle this later.”

Jaune was good with that, just another problem to think of on the flight over to Mistral.

* * *

As always, Jaune did not enjoy the flight. It was nice of Yang to rub his back in an attempt to sooth his stomach, something Pyrrha used to do, but as before that didn’t have any real effect on his condition. Unfortunately Jaune didn’t get a chance to recover after landing in the shared city of Argus, Ironwood ordered his guild to start a march out of the city as soon as their feet touched the ground.

A full day of marching later and the guild stopped to camp for the night. Ordinarily Jaune would have feared Cardin attempting his revenge, but as parties shared their tents, the knight doubted the half-orc wanted to start a feud with Ren, Nora and especially Pyrrha.

Unfortunately the amazon was still not speaking with him. Jaune considered it a small victory when Pyrrha moved from outright ignoring him to giving him looks of indifference, however she went back to ignoring Jaune completely when they set up their tent. As there was only space for four sleeping bags, it was necessary that someone would have to share. Being bonded, Jaune thought it was only logical that he and Yang be the ones to share, which earned a light glare from Pyrrha. That glare quickly turned to ignoring the pair when the party learned that Yang slept in the buff.

Now the entire guild was marching again. Arranged in the rough shape of a column, the guild was just about to crest a large hill as Jaune mentally compared Ironwood’s leadership to the various militaries of the world when the command was heard from the front of the column. “Everyone stop!” Even in the middle of the column, Jaune could perfectly hear the guild leader’s orders, “Party leaders, to me! Everyone else hunker down and stay sharp.” Jaune had the pleasure of walking next to Cardin to the front of the column, at least with so many witnesses around he wouldn’t try anything too out of line. As the knight got to the top of the hill, he saw why Ironwood called them forward.

At the bottom of the hill lay what remained of a large camp, only a half dozen tents still standing. Displayed prominently was the flag of the Happy Huntresses.

* * *

Finding Robyn was easy, she was in the largest tent helping to patch up one of the many injured adventurers. Instead of giving the usual greeting, Ironwood asked, “What happened here Robyn? The contract said this was a simple raid. Some low level beasts, maybe a Grimm or two but nothing that could cause this level of destruction.”

“What happened is that Lionheart fed us the wrong information, again.” Robyn stated as she tightened the tourniquet around the stump of what had been a leg, moving aside as a woman with sheep-like ears appeared to spread a healing ointment on the patient’s burns. Addressing Ironwood directly, Robyn said, “We walked into a nest James, smashed the eggs before we knew what they were. Mama tracked us down in the middle of the night, only left once we annoyed her enough but now the Mistral guild’s that joined up are dead or scattered while I’ve lost half of my girls to death or injury.”

“I assume you’re withdrawing then?” Ironwood asked as professionally as he could, only for Robyn to glare and flip him the bird before stalking off to help another injured adventurer. “Right,” he said to himself before addressing his own guild members, “Clover, you and the rest of the Ace-ops are with me in the vanguard,” Jaune zoned out as Ironwood gave orders to the rest of the party leaders, until he heard his name called, “Arc, Winchester, your parties are the rearguard, make sure nothing sneaks up on us and send word up the column if you need help.”

“What?” Cardin demanded, “Why are me and my boys stuck in the back?”

“Because you haven’t shown me you’re responsible enough for anything else.” Ironwood immediately answered, “Now do you have any other questions, perhaps about your membership in my guild?” Cardin, for once, was wise and kept his mouth shut. “That’s what I thought,” Ironwood stated before ordering, “Alright, let’s move out.”

* * *

As Jaune expected, Cardin placed his party much closer to the column than a typical rear guard but was still technically following orders, which meant Jaune and his party were practically alone on the trail. “Alright,” Jaune began, “Ren, could you check the southern woods for approaching dangers? Nora could you tag along to make sure he’s safe.” The ranger gave a brief nod while the bard gave a salute before both stepped off the path to scout around. Turning to Yang, the knight asked, “Could you check out the North for us?”

“Alright,” Yang readily agreed, having an idea what her master was planning and gave a quick, “good luck,” before heading off herself.

Jaune was now left alone with Pyrrha. For a few moments the pair were silent, slowly walking along the trail to keep the rest of the guild just barely in sight. Finally Jaune gathered his courage and ask, “Could you just say it?” The question actually got the amazon to look at him as he continued, “Just say that you don’t want to be in my party anymore, that we’re no longer friends.” After nearly three days of silence, the words just came tumbling out of Jaune, “Say that I’m a horrible person for what I’ve done, that you wish someone else had been your first time.”

Pyrrha interrupted Jaune’s rant as she stated, “It’s not so much my partner that I’d take issue with, I would have wished for a better location as well, but my lack of virginity is not the issue.”

Filing that bit of information for a different conversation, Jaune threw his hands up and asked, “Then what is it? Pyrrha, I may have grown up with seven sisters, but you know I’m as good a mind reader as the next person,” he paused before quickly amending, “provided they aren’t an actual mind reader.”

Taking pity on her friend, Pyrrha explained, “Jaune, for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always worked hard for what you wanted. When you felt you weren’t living up to your perceived responsibility as a first son, I encouraged you to become an adventurer and join a guild, I supported you and helped you on your quests. Yet now you seem like you’ve changed.” Listing off her reasons, Pyrrha said, “Rather than helping people you seem like you want to make a name for yourself. Accepting more contracts than anyone in our party and taking such a shortcut for a power boost, one that nearly killed you I might add.” Pyrrha then threw her own hands up and stated, “And if it was just about the sex then you could have done the sensible thing and just gone to a brothel, or ask me to help out.” Pyrrha quickly covered her mouth, not meaning to say that last part aloud.

Deciding to address that issue later, Jaune explained, “I am trying to help though. I’m taking more contracts so that our party can buy a house and stop paying Ironwood rent. And yes I did preform the summoning ritual to get stronger, but not for myself.” Seeing Pyrrha’s shocked look, Jaune explained, “You, Ren and Nora are so much stronger than me. You three are going to be amazing, but only if I’m not dragging you down with me. My sword skills and magic reserves are above most people, but nothing compared to the skill you three have. I needed an edge to match up, so I could stay by your side.” Sensing a brief lull in the conversation, Jaune added, “And I can’t emphasize enough that I didn’t know sex was a requirement until after I’d started the ritual.”

The pair were once more silent, until Pyrrha began to laugh. “I guess we both just assumed the worse and ran with it.”

Joining in on the laughter, Jaune agreed, “I guess so.” As the two got their breath back, Jaune asked, “So are we good, or are there any more deep, dark secrets we need to tell each other?”

Pyrrha brought her finger to her chin and tapped it a few times before saying, “No, I think we’ve aired enough dirty laundry for the day.” She then placed her hand against her waist and cocked her hip as she added, “Although next time I see your dick, I expect a proper date before hand.”

As Jaune stood stunned with his mouth open, he attempted to find the right words to speak, only for Yang to burst back onto the path. “Hey, sorry to interrupt the moment but we’ve got to grab Ren and Nora and leave, now!” As if the universe wished to punctuate Yang’s sentence, a vulcan lizard came rushing towards the group.

Despite being ten foot tall, fifteen feet long, being covered in thick red scales and having the ability to breathe extremely hot fire, Vulcan lizards rarely attacked adventurers. Although they were intimidating, the large reptiles were fairly docile and generally let people wonder by without harassment, unless they did something stupid such as attacking the animal.

‘Or smashing their eggs.’ Jaune mentally told himself before he called ahead, “Ren! Nora! Get back to the main column and tell them we have a pissed off vulcan lizard on our tail!” Trusting his friends to follow orders, the knight turned back to Pyrrha and Yang and ordered, “Run!”

For the first ten steps or so, it seemed like the three would manage to regroup with the rest of the Wood’s men, that was until Pyrrha stepped on a patch of ice and fell. Jaune seemed to perceive the event in slow motion. He saw Pyrrha’s foot come down on a patch of ice, he saw her leg slip out from under her, causing the amazon to fall onto her back. He also saw the flames licking the edge of the vulcan lizard’s mouth. In that moment, Jaune acted.

Logically, he knew it was useless; his body did not seem to get the message as he rushed forward. Being careful not to slip on the ice, the knight quickly deployed his shield as he slid in front of his friend, right before the stream of fire shot out of the giant reptile. He could feel the heat against his shield, Jaune knew it would soon be unbearable, he’d have to drop it and face the flames alone, no doubt he’d be burned to a crisp quickly. Maybe his body would act as a shield long enough for Pyrrha to recover and run to safety.

Except that didn’t happen. Even as parts of his shield grew red, Jaune could only describe the feeling as if he’d stepped into a too hot shower, it stung a little but wasn’t extremely painful. Dumbfounded, Jaune could only comment, “Well, that’s different.”

Suddenly a boulder sailed over the pair’s head, hitting the vulcan lizard, stunning the beast and causing it to cease its attack. Quickly turning around, the warriors saw Yang, her arm extended from tossing the giant rock, her eyes red. As if hearing what Jaune said earlier, the hellhound chastised him, “You really need to read your grimoire more, if you bond with a hellhound your fire resistance goes up to the point that anything short of skinny dipping in molten lava will only be a mild discomfort.” She then ordered the pair, “Now, let’s get going.”

As Jaune stood up and helped Pyrrha stand as well, his mind began racing. It was then he made a choice. Turning to his familiar, the knight ordered, “No, we’re taking that thing down.” Upon seeing the looks of disbelief, he explained, “If we run that overgrown lizard will follow us to the main column, Ironwood has them in too close a formation to effectively fight back.” He then admitted, “Look, it’ll be tough, but I’ve got a plan. So, do you two trust me?”

The two women shared a quick look between themselves, seemingly having a full conversation in the span of seconds before Yang huffed and Pyrrha asked, “What do you have in mind?”

* * *

Jaune had a three part plan. The first step of his plan was to distract the monster at long range. As Jaune had the only reliable non-melee attack, he pointed his sword toward the vulcan lizard, reached inside himself to find his magical energy and cried out “Fireball!”

Jaune noticed an immediate change in the spell. Before the magical attack was roughly the size of a tennis ball, now it was at least three times that big. The attack also moved much faster, colliding with the vulcan lizard almost immediately. Although the reptile’s nature and scaled skin meant the attack did little damage, the force behind the hit caused the monster to stagger.

Upon seeing the result of his attack, Jaune called out to his familiar, “Hey Yang?”

“Yeah Jaune?” the hellhound asked, still uninformed about what her part of the plan was.

“Thanks for the spell upgrade, it’s about to come in real handy.” Jaune finished with a grin as he began spamming fireballs. Although this seemed like wasted effort the attacks served a purpose, to distract the vulcan lizard as Pyrrha rushed forward.

Jaune was under no illusions as to the group’s capabilities, he knew that if any one of them had the best chance of actually hurting the giant lizard it would be Pyrrha. True, Yang was probably physically stronger, but he doubted she’d have the time or opportunity to land an effective hit on the monster. Pyrrha, however, did. Despite the ludicrous size of her weapon, Pyrrha wielded the giant sword with a speed and finesse second to almost none. She also had the strength to use the sword, as evident with her first attack being a long slice across the vulcan lizard’s forelimb that resulted in a loud screech from the reptile.

As the amazon dodged the retaliatory stomp, Yang asked, “So was this your plan? Cause a minor distraction before letting your partner do all the work?

“Oh, this isn’t the end of the plan.” Jaune stated before explaining, “Pyrrha’s doing damage, but it’s like the Fireballs from before, we’re only distracting the beast while we set up for the next attack.”

“Okay, so then what _are_ we doing?” Yang demanded, wanting to participate in the fight.

Instead of directly answering her, Jaune asked, “Have you ever played darts?”

“A few times with my Uncle Qrow, who somehow gets better the drunker he is.” Yang supplied, not seeing the how this was relevant.

As Jaune held up his sword, he asked, “So, how much can you lift?”

Now Yang understood what Jaune was getting at. Bending down, Yang cupped her hands together as she loudly declared, “All aboard the Yang train! One way express to giant reptiles!” With some hesitation, Jaune placed his heel in Yang’s hands, he steadied himself by grasping her shoulder as the hellhound lifted him up, he had barely enough time to hold Crocea Mors straight as he felt his familiar rear back before launching him skyward.

* * *

Pyrrha didn’t know what had happened. She was doing her best to slowly slay the vulcan lizard, opening large cuts whenever possible and dodging the crushing stomps. She looked at the beast’s head to try and predict its next move when suddenly there was a streak of color before Jaune appeared on the side of the creature’s head, gripping Crocea Mors tightly as the sword sank to the crossguard into the giant reptile’s eye. Evidently this was the most painful injury the beast had been given during the encounter as it began thrashing about wildly, thoughts of attacking gone as it tried to dislodge the newest attack. Jaune, meanwhile, used every ounce of strength to keep his grip and not be flung away.

It was then Pyrrha saw her opportunity. As the vulcan lizard continued shaking its head, it lifted itself up slightly more than usual. From her position underneath the lizard, the amazon saw a roll of skin that looked just slightly softer than the rest of the scales. Seizing her chance, Pyrrha quickly leapt upwards, swinging her blade in a great arc that opened the vulcan lizard’s throat. As the blood began gushing out of the monster, its thrashing began to slow. Eventually the beast’s movements stopped before it collapsed to the ground, releasing one last breath as life left the reptile’s body.

Now back on solid ground, Jaune braced his foot against the vulcan lizard’s head before pulling Crocea Mors free of the destroyed eye. As Pyrrha stood next to him, Jaune finally seemed to grasp what the group of three had accomplished. He summed up those thoughts with a few carefully selected words, “Holy shit, that actually worked.” Disbelief quickly turned to celebration as he pulled Pyrrha into his arms while giving a wordless cry of victory, something Pyrrha let out as well. Meanwhile Yang quickly rushed to the pair, not wanting to be left out of the celebration.

* * *

Unknown to the trio, some of the Atlas guild witnessed the ending of the fight. As soon as Ren and Nora told the column about the pursing vulcan lizard, they quickly turned around to rush back and help their friends. Many in the lower portion of the column followed soon after. Somehow word had quickly caught up to the head of the column, which caused Ironwood and Robyn to quickly race through the guild to try and save the adventurers.

The assembled fighters had arrived at the scene just as Yang catapulted Jaune at the monster. Upon seeing the trio defeat a beast that usually took the majority of a guild acting in perfect harmony, most of the spectators were left speechless.

Nora was the only one to speak up. Turning to Ren, the bard told her friend in a soft voice, “Renny, I was wrong. Their story isn’t going to be a ballad.” Nora’s usual grin soon returned as she stated, “It’s going to be a legendary epic.”

**Author's Note:**

> The current harem plan
> 
> Yang - hellhound  
> Pyrrha - human (although maybe not completely...)  
> Wiess - sharkgirl  
> Blake - catgirl (unsure if I'll be keeping her mundane or making her a bit more mystical)  
> Ruby - unsure what monstergirl exactly, just that it'll probably be something canine-like
> 
> Possibilities
> 
> Arslan as an Oni  
> Young Maria Calavera as some form of undead (Jaune and co. stumble upon her skull and return it to her body, unintentionally bonding Maria to them)
> 
> Monstergirls that may appear
> 
> snake girl  
> saber-toothed tiger girl
> 
> Girls that WILL NOT be part of the harem
> 
> Ilia - Outside of a one-shot idea I have (that'd mostly feature f/f), I'm uncomfortable writing Ilia in anything resembling a heterosexual relationship with her sexuality being confirmed as lesbian. This is just a quirk of mine that extends other characters and fandoms.  
> Sienna - she is very sexy, but her personality just doesn't strike me as being very compatible to the tale I have in mind and I'd like to keep the character portrayals at least slightly accurate.
> 
> Outside of those characters, feel free to share ideas. I will give proper credit for anything that I use.


End file.
